Fall of Judea (Southern Kingdom) to Babylon and
destruction of the first temple

About 539 BCE

Fall of Babylon. Jews allowed to return to
Judea. Tradition has it that Ezra and Nehemia led this return, and later rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, but the walls
were apparently not built until 100 years later.

About 519 BCE

Rebuilding of the Second Temple under Persian
rule.

331 BCE

Alexander the Great conquers Persia. The land
was subject to Egyptian rule after his death, followed by Seleucid Syrian rule.

Arab conquest of Jerusalem (slightly earlier or
later according to different sources). Caliph
Omar
provides the Christians of Jerusalem with a Covenant guaranteeing their protection. Land
divided into the Jund of filastin, in the south (capital in Al-Lod and later in Ramlah), and the Jund of
Urdunn in the north, with capital in Tiberias (Tabariyeh).

Ottoman Sultan invites Rabbi Haim Abulafia
(1660-1744), Kabbalist and Rabbi of Izmir, to come to rebuild the city of Tiberias; thousands of Jews immigrate to
the land in a wave of Messianic fervor, including Rabbi Moses Haim Luzzatto (1707-1746).

Arab Riots and Massacres
in Hebron,
Jerusalem, Safed, Haifa, Motza and elsewhere. The Jews had set up
a dividing screen at the Wailing Wall in Yom Kippur of 1928 to separate men and
women worshippers, prompting rumors that the Jews wanted to build a synagogue at
wall, which were spread deliberately by Hajj Amin
El Husseini.

1936-1939

Arab Revolt led by Haj Amin Al-Husseini.
Over 5,000 Arabs were killed according to some sources, mostly by British. Several hundred Jews were killed by Arabs.
Husseini fled to Iraq and then to Nazi Germany. British White Paper
(1939) severely restricts Jewish immigration.

May 9, 1942

Biltmore Program - Zionist leaders, headed by
Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, convene at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and declare their postwar program (known
as the Biltmore Program). The program recommended an end to the British Mandate and demand Jewish control over
immigration to Palestine with the aim of founding a Jewish "Commonwealth."
wish history, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Timeline, Zionist movement, Israel history, Middle East
history

Armistice - Israel and Arab states
agree to armistice. Israel gained about 50% more territory than was originally allotted to it by the
UN Partition Plan.

Oct. 29, 1956

Suez Campaign. In retaliation for a
series of escalating border raids as well as the closure of the straits of Tiran and Suez canal to Israeli shipping, and
to prevent Egyptian use of newly acquired Soviet arms in a war, Israel invades the Sinai peninsula and occupies it for
several months, with French and British collaboration.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes the
straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and dismisses UN peacekeeping force. Negotiations with US to reopen the Straits of
Tiran fail.

June 5-10,1967

Six day war- Israel destroys the Egyptian air force on the ground, conquers and
occupies Sinai and Gaza, then conquers the West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria.
UN resolution 242 called for Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace.

June 19, 1967

Israeli Cabinet decides on secret offer, to be delivered to Syrians and Egyptians though American
diplomats, calling for return of territories conquered in the Six day war in return for peace.

Oct. 6, 1973

Yom Kippur War (October War). In a
surprise attack on the Jewish day of atonement, Egypt retook the Suez canal and a narrow zone on the other side. Syria
reconquered the Golan Heights. Following massive US and Soviet resupplying of the sides, Israel succeeded in pushing
back the Syrians and threatening Damascus. Ariel Sharon
was instrumental in the successful crossing of the Suez Canal, which
cut off the Egyptian Third Army. Israeli casualties were unacceptably high however, and both Syria and Egypt celebrate
the anniversary of the war as a victory.

Al-Aqsa tunnel riots - Arab sources spread the
false rumor that a gate opened in an underground tunnel tourist attraction by the Israeli government, endangered the
foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. This caused several days of rioting and numerous casualties.

Jan 18, 1997

Israel and Palestinians reach
agreement on Israeli redeployment in the West-Bank city of Hebron

Oct. 1998

Wye River Plantation talks result in an agreement for Israeli redeployment and release of political prisoners and
renewed Palestinian commitment to correct its violations of the Oslo accords including excess police force, illegal arms
and incitement in public media and education.

May 17, 1999

Israel elects Labor party leader
and Former General Ehud Barak as Prime Minister in a landslide. Barak promises rapid progress toward peace.

March, 2000

Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations
fail when Hafez Assad rejects an Israeli offer relayed by US President Clinton in Geneva.

Sept. 28, 2000

Palestinians initiated riots after
Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the
Temple Mount, which is also the location of the Haram as Sharif holy to Muslims.

Second Lebanon War
- Hezbollah terrorists cross the blue line border with Lebanon,
attack an Israeli patrol, killing 3 and capturing 2 soldiers. Additional soldier dies the following day and several are
killed when a tank hits a mine, pursuing the captors. At the same time, Hezbollah began a series of rocket attacks on
northern Israel. In subsequent days, Israel carried out massive but selective bombing and artillery shelling of Lebanon,
hitting rocket stores, Hezbollah headquarters in Dahya quarter of Beirut (see
Beirut Map and al-Manara television in Beirut, and killing over two hundred
persons, many civilians. Hezbollah responds with several hundred rocket attacks on Haifa, Tiberias, Safed and other
towns deep in northern Israel, killing 13 civilians to July 18 (See Map of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks)
, and a Hezbollah Iranian supplied C-802 missile hits an Israeli missile cruiser off
the cost of Beirut, killing 4. Hezbollah rocket also sinks at least one foreign neutral ship and damages an Egyptian
one. G-8 meeting calls for cessation of violence, return of Israeli soldier and disarmament of Hezbolla in accordance
with UN Security Council
Resolution 1559 and UN Security Council Resolution 1680.

Israeli renovations near the Mughrabi gate of the Al-Aqsa mosque in
Jerusalem spark widespread unrest in the Arab world, over false charges that Israel is destroying the mosque.

Feb. 8, 2007

Palestinian Unity Agreement in Mecca. Hamas and Fatah agree to share power,
based on vaguely worded agreement. Hamas officials reiterate that they will never recognize Israel. US and Israel insist
that the new government must recognize right of Israel to exist, disarm terrorist groups and agree to end violence.

Feb. 19, 2007

Trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-American summit with Secretary of State Rice,
PM Ehud Olmert and President Abbas ended with no visible result.

March 17, 2007

Palestinian unity government sworn in.

June 2007

Hamas ousts Fatah from Gaza in bloody coup.

Nov. 26-28

US convenes peace summit at Annapolis, Md. with participation of Arab
nations, Quartet, EU members, GCC and others including South Africa. Israelis and Palestinians are forced to agree on a
joint statement that vows to implement the quartet roadmap in parallel, with US monitoring performance and the sides
negotiating continuously with the aim of concluding an agreement by the end of 2008. See:
Joint Israeli-Palestinian Declaration, and its meaning

Jan. 2008

President Bush visit to Middle East; Hamas "breakout" into Egypt at Rafah
Crossing.

Feb. 12, 2008

Hezbollah "militant" Imad Moughniyeh
killed by car bomb in Damascus. Moughniyeh was a "militancy" mastermind, responsible for attacks on U.S. embassy and US
marines in Lebanon in the 80s, for kidnapping of American nationals, for explosions in Israel Embassy and Jewish Center
in Argentina and apparently for planning the kidnappings that triggered the second Lebanon War. FBI had a $5 million
dollar reward out for Moughniyeh. Israel denies any involvement in the killing of Moughniyeh.

Address by President Obama in Cairo, June 4, 2009
- Historic speech of rapprochement with the Arab and Muslim world also has
direct implications for Israeli-Palestinian conflict, since the President calls
for an end to Israeli construction of settlements in the occupied territories,
as well as Arab recognition of Israel and a two state solution.

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